When you fly across the globe, all you need is one ticket for your entire journey. When you want to travel by rail across Europe, you need a wad of tickets for the various countries and railcompanies.
That is set to come to an end as of 2009. Several major rail operators on continent, including the French, German, Swiss and Dutch companies, are set to join forces to offer travellers one ticket across the continent. Part of their objective is to lure passengers out of planes into trains. An extensive article can be found here.
Within Europe, I certainly believe that trains can compete with planes. For a start, the train comes to the centre of a city. You don't have to travel for miles to get to an airport. A train does not create as much of a noise nuisance as a plane, and high-speed trains travel up to 200 mph. With the advantage of travelling from centre to centre, rail can compete with air.
I love riding trains, I grew up in a railroad family and my ex just recently retired after 30 years as an engineer. Have ridden in the old passenger trains as a child in the 1950's and the modern day Amtrak cars. Also have ridden in engines and cabooses...but never more than 60 miles an hour. So 200 miles an hour seems mighty fast ! But the idea of having one ticket across Europe sounds like a great idea, much easier for the passengers for sure. Linda in Washington
ReplyDeleteThe world and Europe especially is certainly getting smaller. I wish rail was a more common mode of transport here in the States, but I guess our size keeps us driving or taking planes.
ReplyDelete-Kellen
We have some trains here...but not enough. I wish there were more. It's such a nice way to travel.
ReplyDeletePam